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Type: Articles
Published: 2007-06-21
Page range: 51–64
Abstract views: 36
PDF downloaded: 1

A new species of palustrine Eleutherodactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from Puerto Rico

Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico 00931, USA
Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico 00931, USA
Anura coastal ecosystems Coqui Llanero freshwater herbaceous karst NMDS

Abstract

We describe adult morphology, advertisement call, and natural history diagnostic of a new species of Eleutherodactylus from a fresh water (palustrine) herbaceous wetland of northern coastal Puerto Rico. The new species is apparently the smallest Puerto Rican Eleutherodactylus and is morphologically most similar to E. gryllus, which inhabits high-elevation humid forests and cloud forests. Although both species have well-developed glands throughout the body, morphological ratios, body coloration, frequency of calls, call structure, and habitat association indicate that it is a well-differentiated species. The new species and E. gryllus may have diverged from an ancestral wetland-dwelling species.

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